A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed so far. You're greatly appreciated! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 4: Nepotism

The only way Ana would describe her first week back was… a rollercoaster.

There seemed to be so many ups and downs, and so many highs and lows, that the utter whirlwind of it all wreaked havoc on her brain. Overall, she felt happy to be back at the office with all her friends, and immersing herself back into her work really did help distract her from everything she went through with her mother down in Georgia. In fact, after work on Wednesday, Nadia and Jessica took Ana out for happy hour at one of their old favorite bars, and it made Ana feel as if she had never left.

But that, of course, was only part of the story. Her triumphant return pretty much seemed to be going to shit because of one particular office mate she was forced to interact with on a daily basis.

Every single day, Christian would make a point of saying a snide or sarcastic comment to Ana, goading her to respond back in a similar fashion. His comments were usually barbs about her quality of work or the fact that she drank tea, and of course his rude comment about her not going to the gym still stuck out in her mind. Ana would rather chew her own arm off than admit to him his words got to her, but after work on Monday, she did end up standing in front of the full-length mirror in her room in just her bra and panties, staring at her reflection from all angles and trying to see her appearance from an objective point-of-view. Of course, she knew she wasn't fat, and Christian clearly just wanted to get under her skin, and so she ended up just turning around and stomping off to go put on her bathrobe.

By Thursday, it had gotten to the point where Ana's mood would deteriorate whenever she laid eyes on Christian sitting at his desk or walking toward her from the other side of the hallway. He always had a malicious gleam in his eye when he looked at her, as if he was preparing himself to make a snarky comment to her – Ana absolutely hated that look.

And it was all even more infuriating when nobody else in the office seemed to share her feelings about Christian being the worst.

"I guess Christian can be a bit brusque, and sort of intimidating, but I've never gotten a bad vibe off of him," Jessica said to Ana on Friday morning as they met up in the break room. Someone had brought in bagels, so they were fixing themselves up some breakfast while Ana aired her grievances about her office mate. "He is gorgeous though, I'm sure you've noticed."

"Of course – I thought he was a model when I first laid eyes on him," Ana confessed, shaking her head at her own stupidity. "But then he opened his mouth and showed me how ugly he truly is. It's like he enjoys making me suffer."

"Maybe he just likes you," Jessica suggested. Ana couldn't help but laugh.

"Ha! If that were true, I'd hate to see how he shows that he doesn't like me," she stated, spreading cream cheese on her bagel slice. Jessica chuckled.

"Fair enough. But seriously, I really don't think Christian's that bad – the rest of us have been working with him for like a month before you came back from Georgia, and nobody has had any problem with him. In fact, his reports are some of the most well-organized in the department. Everyone really likes how much more smoothly everything's running because of him."

"Don't say nice things about him in front of me," Ana warned, pointing her cream cheese-covered plastic knife at her friend. "I'm determined to hate him, alright?"

Jessica laughed again. "You really are a hopeless case, Steele."

The two of them continued to chat for a few more minutes as more people started filtering into the break room. Ted, the project lead who Max mentioned was retiring at the end of the year, walked inside and spotted Ana before heading over to her.

"Good morning ladies," Ted smiled politely at the two of them. Ted was a stocky bald man in his late sixties, and Ana liked him well enough. He was undeniably good at his job, though Ana couldn't help but notice he had slowed down quite a bit in the past year or so. It made sense that he was retiring in a few months.

"Good morning, Ted," Ana smiled back at him. "How are you today?"

"Oh, y'know – still chuggin' along," he said modestly. "But Max was actually just looking for you, Ana. Eamon is calling a meeting with all the marketing agents this morning."

Jessica and Ana both raised their eyebrows at each other. Their CEO was calling a surprise meeting? That was odd, and possibly a little concerning. "Really? Did he say what it's about?"

"No, but it's apparently happening at ten o'clock in the large conference room."

Ana glanced at the clock on the wall before her eyes widened in shock: it was five minutes to ten.

"Shoot, I've gotta run," Ana said, tossing her half-eaten bagel in the nearby trash. "Thanks Ted. I'll see you later, Jess."

"Bye Ana – good luck!"

Unfortunately, the big conference room was on the other side of the floor, but if Ana power-walked the whole way, she would make it there with barely enough time. She hurriedly made her way through the hallways, dodging around other people milling around or walking in the opposite direction.

Ana panted as she moved swiftly through the hallways, checking her watch as she went. She couldn't help but wish Max had gotten someone else to go fetch her – as much as she liked Ted, he tended to move pretty slowly due to age. He was the reason why she likely was going to be late to this meeting.

She finally turned a corner where the big conference room was, and felt a sweep of relief when she saw a few of her fellow marketing agents still milling around in front of the doorway. So the meeting hadn't started yet, thank God – Ana hurried down the hallway, almost knocking into some people walking in the opposite direction, before finally arriving at the conference room door and slowing down to a stop.

"Hey," Ana greeted a few of her coworkers standing nearby, and she put her hands on her hips as she tried to catch her breath, ignoring the sheen of sweat that had gathered on her face and under her arms. She hated the fact that she was forced to practically sprint to this meeting, but she supposed there wasn't much she could do about it now.

Ana continued to catch her breath as she stepped into the conference room. This room had a massive u-shaped conference table in the center with giant leather chairs all around it, and the west-facing wall consisted of large floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. Dozens of people were milling around or taking their seats at the table, and Ana began searching around for a place to sit.

"Hey Seabiscuit, did you win the race?"

Ana looked over and felt her mood sink when she noticed Christian standing nearby, gazing directly at her. He looked effortlessly cool and handsome, his hands tucked in his pockets as he gave Ana's sweaty appearance a onceover.

"No. I'm just going for the sweaty look today," Ana said, giving him a sarcastic smile as she tucked her fist under her chin like a beauty contest winner. "I hear dewy skin is really in right now."

Christian smirked at her. "Well, you didn't need to book it here. Kavanaugh hasn't even arrived yet."

"Do you know why he called this meeting?" Ana asked, turning and once again looking around for a place to sit. "When Ted told me about it, he didn't seem to know."

"No one else knows either," Christian shrugged. They both noticed an empty chair a few feet away, and they lunged for it at the same time, with Christian grabbing it a split second before her. "Too slow, Steele," he grinned triumphantly at her as she scowled at him.

"Fine, take the chair," she snarked at him. "Like you took half my office."

"Don't mind if I do," Christian said easily, moving to sit down in the soft leather seat. "Ahh… comfy."

"Can I have your attention everyone?"

The room went quiet as their CEO strode into the room, and Ana moved to stand near the back wall with the other people who weren't lucky enough to grab a chair. Eamon Kavanaugh was a tall and strapping gentleman with a rather sharp disposition that earned him a lot of respect in the corporate world. Ana had only interacted with him a handful of times, and she'd been supremely intimidated each time.

She couldn't help but be very curious as to why he was calling this random meeting today.

"Everyone, thank you for coming today. This will only take a moment of your time," Mr. Kavanaugh said, and he gestured to someone who stepped up beside him: a young, gorgeous blonde woman with a stunning smile. "I'm sure most of you know about my daughter, Katherine."

Katherine smiled and waved at everyone, and Ana got a good look at her. She really was beautiful, though it was clear she put a lot of effort into her appearance: flawless tan, long blonde waves (probably extensions), makeup done to perfection, and a Gucci bag hooked onto her elbow. She wore a tight, low-cut black shirt and a pencil skirt with stiletto heels, all of which Ana was sure were designer.

"Kate is currently going to school for business administration at NYU," Mr. Kavanaugh went on, smiling at his daughter. "She's been doing exceptionally well, and so I have made the decision to bring her on to the Kavanaugh Media team as a part-time marketing administrator. This is only going to be a temporary arrangement, but I hope all of you will welcome Kate onto the team like you would any other coworker."

Kate smiled once again, but Ana could only blink, taking in Mr. Kavanaugh's words with a pervading feeling of disbelief. This was the reason why he called this big meeting for all the marketers? He wanted to announce that he hired his daughter in an act of blatant nepotism? Ana tried not to let the annoyance show on her face, but it was difficult; she surreptitiously glanced around at some of her other coworkers, who all seemed to be struggling to hide their true angry feelings too.

Mr. Kavanaugh went on to give direction on who would manage his daughter and what he expected of them, which didn't include Ana, thank God. Max apparently was going to be one of the managers expected to babysit her, though, and Ana couldn't help but feel some sympathy for him.

Mr. Kavanaugh soon ended the meeting, thankfully not wasting any more of their time, and everyone began to leave the conference room. Ana glimpsed several of her more bootlicking coworkers walk to the front and greet Katherine, warmly welcoming her to the team. Ana made sure to turn her face away before rolling her eyes.

"Not taking kindly to our new coworker, Steele?" Christian suddenly appeared at her side, grinning amusedly at her. "Your disdain is palpable."

"It's ridiculous," Ana said quietly, not bothering to hide the anger in her voice. "He pulled all of us in for a meeting just to announce that his spoiled daughter, who's probably getting a free ride through college, is going to be working with us? This is just a whole other level of stupid."

"I would actually agree with you on that," Christian said, sighing as he shook his head. "But he's the CEO. He can do what he wants."

"He shouldn't, though, especially when it negatively affects his employees," Ana pointed out, and the two of them began making their way to their office. "That's not exactly demonstrating good leadership."

"We don't know yet if this Katherine girl is going to negatively affect our work," Christian stated fairly. "And it would probably be in our best interest to be nice to her. It wouldn't do us any favors to be rude to the boss's daughter."

"I would think those behaviors came naturally to you," Ana said snidely, causing Christian to roll his eyes. "Though I should've realized you were just a brown-noser all along."

"The fact that I don't want to piss off my boss makes me a brown-noser?" Christian asked sarcastically. "Heaven forbid I want to remain employed. You're free to be a bitch to her, though… that behavior seems to come naturally to you."

"Please. Like I'd give you the satisfaction," Ana said, raising her chin haughtily. "I'll be nice to her even if it kills me."

"I'd like to see that," Christian chuckled skeptically.

"I'm sure you would," Ana gave him a side eye. "And I'm sure you're going to try to be extra nice to Miss Kavanaugh… or am I wrong?"

"Are you implying I'm going to try to hook up with my boss's daughter, Steele?" Christian asked. They finally arrived at their office, and they both stopped so they could face each other. "You sure have a filthy mind."

"Oh please, like you weren't thinking it," Ana scoffed, crossing her arms. "Every guy in the world would love to hook up with a hot blonde."

"Oh? And is that why you choose to be brunette?" Christian asked, glancing at her hair. "Trying to keep all the menfolk away, are we?"

"I'll have you know I've been in a happy relationship for the past two years," Ana said, a hint of pride in her voice. "And Jose finds me very attractive, thank you very much."

"Poor guy. Must be all out of options," Christian teased, and Ana scowled at him.

"Asshole," she snapped at him.

"Desperate," Christian lobbed right back.

"Hey guys."

The two of them turned to see Max, who had appeared before them with Katherine Kavanaugh at his side. "Sorry, is this a bad time?" he asked, glancing between the two.

"No, not at all," Ana said immediately, smoothing her hands down the front of her skirt as she forced a smile. "What's up?"

"I'm just showing Miss Kavanaugh the ropes and introducing her to everyone in the department," Max explained, gesturing to Miss Kavanaugh standing beside him. "Kate, this is two of our marketing agents, Christian Grey and Ana Steele. Forgive their arguing – the two of them don't exactly get along."

Ana blushed as Miss Kavanaugh let out a tinkling laugh. "Oh, well that's too bad," she smiled up at Christian as she held her hand out for him to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Miss Kavanaugh," Christian said charmingly, taking her hand. "I have to say, I'm very much looking forward to working alongside you in the coming months."

Ana had to fight not to roll her eyes.

"I am too. Everyone here has been so nice," Kate said brightly, a flirty hint to her voice that Ana didn't miss. "I'm sure I'm going to learn a lot from you, Mr. Grey."

"Please, call me Christian," Christian flirted back. "And I'm sure there's a lot I can learn from you too, Miss Kavanaugh."

"You probably say that to all the girls," Kate giggled prettily.

Christian leaned in conspiratorially. "Only the pretty blondes," he said in a stage whisper, and Kate let out a laugh.

"Oh, you're terrible," she giggled, playfully batting him on the arm.

"I know, I'm sorry," Christian smiled, placing a hand on his heart in mock penance, and Kate laughed again.

Max, who was probably feeling a bit awkward watching the two of them flirt, pointed out another one of their coworkers nearby. He and Kate said goodbye to Christian and Ana before making their way over to him.

Christian glanced over at Ana, who could only stare back at him in disbelief. He simply winked at her, a superior smirk on his face as turned and headed into their office.

Ana could only watch him for a second before letting out an incredulous laugh, following him into the office. She wasn't entirely sure, but she felt that that little display Christian put on was more for her benefit than for Kate's.

A/N: If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review! Next chapter, someone gets some shocking news.